It was a much-less exciting game for the Chargers against the 49ers and it all came down to a very undisciplined performance from just about everyone.
Unfortunately, some of the worst-graded players on the Chargers in this one were amongst the starters. Right guard Cole Strange — a literal follower of Mike McDaniel from the Dolphins — was atrocious in his first bit of game action despite being a hand-picked signing due to knowing the offense already.
Veteran tight end David Njoku, another signing this
offseason, could execute his assignments and was a big reason the starters only got three plays on their sole drive of the game.
It was a game to quickly forget and move on from, but not before finding every bit of improvement needed. And unfortunately there was a ton to make a note of.
Offense
Best
TE Jerand Bradley – 91.5
RB Keaton Mitchell – 75.1
OG/T Alex Harkey – 71.5
TE Oronde Gadsden II – 71.0
OT Travis Burke – 69.4
Bradley scored the Chargers’ only offensive touchdown against the 49ers and it was a very heads-up play where he was mindful about being touched down — or lack thereof — and managed to get up and scoot into the end zone. He has a very difficult path to sticking with the Chargers, but this play was nonetheless huge.
Harkey was the highest-graded run blocker for the Chargers last Thursday while also being the only player to record a run block grade over 70.0 (72.3).
Burke’s 81.0 pass block grade was second-best on the team to center Jacob Spomer (82.6).
Worst
OT Laekin Vakalahi – 33.3
OG Cole Strange – 40.5
TE David Njoku – 40.6
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith – 41.6
OG/T Branson Taylor – 46.1
Vakalahi was overall the worst player on offense as he recorded a run block grade of 29.6 and a pass block grade of 36.4. The only worse pass block grade on the team was Strange with a horrendous 17.5. This is unfortunately not a fluke from Strange who recorded two different pass block game grades of below 20.0.
Njoku’s run block grade of 27.9 was the worst among offensive players. He had just two games in 2025 where he was graded below 50.0 as a run blocker so the Chargers have to hope this was just a fluke against a well-coached defense.
Defense
Best
LB Denzel Perryman – 90.5
LB Junior Colson – 89.1
CB Rodney Shelley – 84.6
LB Marlowe Wax – 84.3
CB Isas Waxter – 79.2
The linebacker play of the Chargers continued their strong preseason as Perryman and Colson were the team’s highest-graded defenders against the Niners. Colson specifically has impressed in his return to the field after missing most of his first two NFL seasons. His coverage grade of 90.7 was in the elite range and even topped his 89.7 grade from a week ago.
Wax also kept his impressive pace with another performance that was strong in both run defense (84.1) and tackling (75.4). Through two games, Wax is the Chargers’ highest-graded defender overall at 92.1, followed by Colson at 90.8.
Shelley’s 87.1 coverage grade was second only to Colson. His 76.9 tackling grade was also fourth on the team and best among cornerbacks.
Worst
EDGE Nadame Tucker – 29.9
S Tony Jefferson – 31.4
LB Emany Johnson – 36.7
DT Jamaree Caldwell – 37.2
S Noah Avinger – 41.6
After a strong start to camp, Tucker has fallen off a bit. We haven’t heard much in regards to splash plays during practice and this latest outing against the Niners was ROUGH, to say the least. Tucker was the lowest-graded player on the entire team and it was his 29.3 run defense grade that truly sunk him.
Jefferson got beat on a pair of passes and that docked his coverage grade all the way down to 32.3, by far the worst on the team.
Cadlwell’s 44.6 run defense grade was the biggest offender for him. His pass rush grade of 58.5 was middle of the pack.
Avinger recorded a tackling grade of 23.6, worst on the team after missing a pair of tackes.
